Coating machine and coating process



Aug. 12, 1930. J. A. L. MOLL ER 1,772,553

' comma MACHINE AND comma PROCESS Filed April 8, 1926 2 Spats-Sheet 1 INVENTD R.

Z 605 A. Z. #5245)? Aug. 12, 1930, J. A. Li'MbLLER 1,772,553

.conmd momma AND cdA-rme rnocsss Filed April 8,'-1926I 2 shuts-shut 2 INVENTOB JKDQ AL. lfoufl? ATTORNEYS Patented Aug. 12, mo

UNITED STATES moon A. L. Mensa, or NEW Yoax, N. Y.

COATING MACHINE AND COATING PROCESS Application filed 'April s, 1926. Serial No. 100,483.

The present invention relates to a coating machine for the coating of carbon paper and other transfer sheets and to a process of coating such sheets.

5. Coating machines, such as have heretofore been employed for the coating of carbon paper or transfer sheets, have been constructed with most of their parts infixed relative positions, various changes in the character of the coating being attained by varying the composition of the dope or transfer material and the speed of operation of the machines. In such machines it frequently happens that the penetration of the dope 1 or transfer material takes place to too great an extent, thereby producing an unsatisfactory product.

In the coating of paper and other transfer sheets with dope or transfer material, the penetration of the material into the web paper or sheet takes place primarily in two stages, the first stage taking place through the passage of the dope or transfer material bodily into the paper until the paper is cooled to the temperature at which the dope or transfer material hardens or sets. After the cooling step of the process a seconary action takes place by the slow penetration of light oils, or colors of a soluble nature, which may continue for Weeks or months, this secondary penetration being in the nature of a seasoning process. By employing a suitable composition of dope or transfer material the. amount of secondary" penetration may be controlled to a large extent. The amount of secondary penetration which takes place is dependent also upon the character of the paper or tissue employed in the transfer sheet. In a hard paper, for example, the extent of secondary penetration is less than in a tissue having high absorption qualities.

The means which I have provided are adapted more particularly to limit and control the degree of primary penetration, that is, the penetration of waxes, oils, pigments or colors into the body of the paper, although I may also control the secondary penetration in the usual manner. 'For the purpose of controlling primary penetration, I employ heating and cooling rolls which may be adjusted in position so as to determine boththe time interval in which primary penetration takes place, and also the temperature of the paper and transfer material during the primary penetration period. The means which I preferably employ together with its mode of operation will be hereinafter more fully set forth. I I

It is the primary object of the present invention to provide a machine in which the degree of penetration of the dope or transfer material into the transfer sheet may be controlled, and in which the penetration may be readily varied and regulated.

Another object of the invention is to provide heating and cooling means in a coating machine'which may be varied in position so as to control the temperature of the transfer I sheet and the distance through which the sheet travels during the heating period so as to regulate the degree of penetration of the transfer material into the transfer sheet.

Another object of the invention is to provide a process for coating paper in which the steps of heating and cooling of the transfer sheet, after the dope or transfer material has beenv applied thereto, may be regulated so as to control the character of the product, such as the degree of hardness, the degree of $0 penetration of the dope or transfer material,-and the amount of polish on the surface of the paper, etc. 7

Other objects of the invention will appear in connection with the description hereinafter of the process and apparatus of my invention. v 1

Various features of the invention are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 shows a diagrammatic view-of a machine embodying the preferred form of my invention and which is adapted for carrying out the steps of my process; 5

' Figure2 is a detailed view in side elevation of a' portion of the apparatus by means of which heating and cooling of the transfer sheet may be varied and regulated to attain the desired degree of penetration of the fied orm, of the machine 'for carrying out my process;

F igure 5 is a detailed view of a modified form of the portion of the apparatus shown in Figure 2, by means of which adjustment of the heating and cooling rolls of the device may be obtained; and

Figure 6 is adetailed sectional view taken on the section line 6-6 of Figure 5.

Referring more in detail to the drawings, numeral 10 designates a supply roll upon which is mounted the web of paper or sheet material to be coated. In carrying out my coating process the web or sheet may be first passed over a suitable guide-roll 12 and from thence through a tension device 14, by .means of which the tension in the sheet may be reg ulated, and which may serve also to flatten out the sheet so as to iron out wrinkles, or to prevent their formation during passage of the sheet to the dope roller or coating roller.' From the tensioning device the sheet to be coated may be passed over one or more guide-rolls 16 and from thence into contact with a dope roller 18- which ma be of any suitable form, although I prefera ly em 10y a dope roller which is fed from a tan 20 containing transfer material or dope, which may be fed from the tank by gravity or in any other manner onto the surface of the dope roller.

The dope roller em loyed in the device ma be of any suitable size, although I (pref era ly employ a steel roller having a ameter of about 5". In connection with the roller, I employ a suitable evening device 22 serving to control the depth of the coating or dope on the roller before it is applie to the pager or sheet to be coated. For this purpose, preferably employ an equalizer rod combined with a suitable means for removing the excess transfer material taken up by the equalizer rod. In place of the equalizer rod, I may, if desired, em loy a scraper to remove the excess materiai from the dope roller 18 whereby asubstantiall even coating of transfer material or dope is obtained on the web or sheet passing in,

contact with the do roller.

The coating material in the tank 20 is pref- I erably ke t uniformly heatedso as to maintain the esired consistency of the transfer material which is applied to the paper, therehigher t e temperatureof the dope which under the coating roller, as shown in 1 of the drawings, so that the force of gravis emplo ed the thinner will be the mixture and t e ess therefore will be the amount of the mixture taken up by the roller, provided the feed to the roller is properl regulated. Furthermore, the penetration o the dope or transfer material into-the sheet increases with temperature, provided other conditions are maintained constant; and, in general, the higher the temperature of the transfer material the more rapid will be the penetration into the paper or sheet.

The sheet to be coated is preferably assed Figure ity may assist in spreading or distributing the transfer material over the surface of the sheet. From the dope roller the paper or sheet may be passed into contact with a second evenin device, suchas an equalizer rod 24, or simifii do e or transfer material over the surface of t e paper while thedope is still hot or in a liquid condition. vices 22, 24 are referably adjustable in position, and may e wire-wound or constructed in any suitable manner so as to attain an even or uniform distribution of the transfer material on the paper. I may employ only one of the equalizing devices, if desired, by raising the other device, such as 24, for example, out of engagement with the coating material, or .I may employ both devices simultaneously to attain the desiredregulation. From the equalizer rod 24 or other equalizing device, the paper or sheet is passed over a suitable heating means, such as a roller 26, which may be adjusted in position at any suitable distance from the equalizer rod 24 so as to attain any desired set. means of steam or other suitable heating means so as to attain any desired degree of heat and to maintain uniformity in heating, thereby assistin in regulating the degree of penetration of t e dope or transfer material into the sheet. Instead of using steam in the roller 26 I may, if desired, employ electrical means for heating and regulating the temperature.

In order to permit control of the period in which heatin of the sheet occurs, I provide means by w ich the heating roller may be raised or lowered, either while the machine is in operation, or when stationary, so as to re late the amount of wrap on the roll, an I also provide means by which the heatin roll ma be driven at any desired rateof speed. eans ma also be provided whereby the heating roller may be maintained stationary, if desired, while the trans-- fer sheet passes over the roller. By means of the adJusting mechanism for raising and lowering the heating roller 26, not onl is the amount of wra i. e., the length of the are over which the eet runs in contact with r device, adapted to spread the 1 The heating roller may be heated by The equalizing dethe heating roller, regulated but the time interval between the time the dope is applied to the paper or sheet and' the time that the heating of the sheet by the roller 26 is accomplished may be regulated.

The heating roller 26-is preferably mounted on extensible rods 30 in which a shaft 29, attached to the heating roller 26, has its bearings 31. In order to attain longitudinal adjustment of the heating roller 26 in the machine, I preferably provide an arcuate gear rack or gear sector of a gear 34, which is adapted to engage a pinion 36 connected to the rods 30 by means of a shaft 38. By turning the pinions 36 on tl e shaft 38, which is mounted in bearings in the rods 30,the pinions move over the gear 34, thus moving rods 30 with it. The shaft 38 may be rotated or operated by meansof a crank 40 attached at one end of the shaft, by means of which the set of the rods 30 is adjusted. In order to fasten the rods 30 in place after adjustment has been made, any suitable form of locking means 42 may be provided, although I pref- 'erably employ for this purpose'a bolt mov- 111g in an arcuate groove 44, a nut being provided for fastening the bolt in place in any desired position in the groove. 3

In addition to providing means'by which the angular position of the rods 30 and roller 26 may be adjusted, I provide means also by which the rods 30, at each side of the machme, may be simultaneouslyextended or contracted, whereby the roller 26 may be maintained in horizontal position during adjustment thereof, and may be raised or lowered to any desired elevation. The means which I preferably employ for this purpose comprises a telescopic adjustment in the nature of a turn-buckle, such as a split-shaft having threads on its external portion andoperated by a sleeve 28, having internal screw threads therein, whereby when the sleeve is rotated the parts of the shaft will be exor shortened a tended or brought together as desired.

In order to operate both rods simultaneously, I may attach to the sleeves 28 a worm gear 46 which is adapted to cooperate with worms 48 which are mounted on a rod or .shaft50 extending transversely across the machine, as indicated in Fig. 3 of the drawings.

In order to attain rotation of the roller 26, I may employ a chain drive and may provide means in connection therewith whereby, as the rods 30 are changed or adjusted in position, the driving chain may be extended roportionated amount to compensate for t e change in relative position of the heating roller. For this purpose,

I preferably employ a chain 52 which passes over a pinion 54 mounted on the shaft 29'on which the heating roller 26 is supported. A

corresponding pinion or gear '56 may be mounted on, a shaft 58 rotatably mounted in the bed of the machine and driven by any suitable source of power through a driving wheel 60. In order to regulate the tension in the chain 52, I preferably provide an idler 62 which may be mounted on a rod 64, pivoted on the shaft 58, which may be adjustably held in position by means of a fastening member 66 similar to means 42 previously described. If desired, I may employ a spring, such as a coil spring 67, for example, by means of which the roller 62 may be pressed against the chain 52 with a substantially constant force, whereby during adj ustment of the position of the roller 26, the chain 52 will automatically adjust itself in position when the fastening means 66 is released.

. After the sheet to be coated has passed over the heating roller 26, the sheet is permitted to pass a predetermined distance through the air, after which the sheet is passed over a cooling roller .68 which may be cooled by artificial means, or which may have a sufficiently large surface, so that during the rotation of the cooling roller suflicient heat is abstracted so as to maintain the desired cooling effect upon the transfer sheet.

In order to adjust the cooling roller 68 in position, I may employ means similar to that employed in connection with the heating roller 26, as shown in Figure 2 of the drawings, the rods 70 011 which the cooling roller 68 is mounted being pivoted on the shaft 32, for example, and pinions 72, adapted to move over the gear 34, being mounted on a shaft 74, which may be turned or operated by means of a crank 76 at one side of the machine through which'the angular adjustment of the rods 70 may be attained. Lockingmeans 78, similar to means 42, may be provided for fixing or holding the rods 70in position after an ular adjustment thereof has been made. T e means by which the rods 70 may be extended or shortened to adjust the position of the cooling roller are preferably similar to the means employed in connection with the rods 30, as shown in Fig;

2 of the drawings.

Means may be provided for independently rotating the cooling roller 68 in any directionand at any desired speed, although I preferably ,employ driving means comprismg a driving chain 80 which passes over a pinion 82 mounted on the shaft 84, on which the roller 68 is mounted, the chain passing over a corresponding pinion or gear 86 mount- I After the sheet has passed over the cooling roller 68, it is preferably passed into contact with a bufiin roller 96 in order to polish the coating on tie sheet and toattain the desired finish. This bufiing roller may be laced in Contact with the cooling roller 68, if desired, or it may be positioned at a distance from the cooling roller in contact with or against the face of another roller 98, as shown in Figure 1. After the sheet has been buffed by means of the bufiing roller it is assed on to any suit-able reel 100 on which it is received and wound up in its finished form.

In place of a single heating roll, I may employ two or more heating rolls by means of which a more uniform temperature may be attained durin the heating process; and in place of a sing e cooling roll, I may use two or a series of cooling or chilling rolls which may be at the same or at different temperatures. When such a series of chilling rolls is employed, it is preferable to maintain a graded cooling effect so that the sheet in passing over the cooling rolls becomes gradually cooled to the desired temperature.

Under certain circumstances, it will be found advantageous to employ a series of setsof heating and cooling rolls by means of which the sheet in passing through the series is subjected to alternate heating and cooling, so that if four rolls were employed, for example, the sheet would be first heated by the heatingroller, similar to the roller 26 in Figure 1 of the drawings, and then cooled by means of'a cooling-roller similar to roller 68 in Figure 1, and thereafter reheated to a low= er temperature than that of the heating roller 26 but above the temperature of the cool-. in roller 68 by means of another heating r0 ler, and thereafter cooled by one or more cooling rollers to the desired final temperature.

It is contemplated that the various rollers above referred to may be made adjustable in osition in a manner similar to that described in connection with Figures 1 and 2 of the drawin s and that suitable means may be employed or attaining any desired speed of rotation of the rolls which may be accomplished by a belt drive or a chain drive as may be preferred. By means. of such adjustable eating and cooling rolls, the operator may retard or accelerate the penetrating action of the dope'at the proper time whereby the penetration is regulated, and any desired degree of hardness or softness may thus be imarted to the sheet which is coated. It is to e understood that the time of heatin and the amount of chilling to be employed n the above process varies with the character of a the finished carbon paper to be obtained and varies also in'a degree with the comparative blackness or writing properties of the paper ish which is imparted to the surface of the carbon or sheet.

In the adjustment of the arms or rods 30 and 7 0 in the machine to'attain the desired positions of the heating .and cooling rollers, scale markings or vermers may be employed so as to determine the set of the members by inspection of the scale and the adjustments may thus readily be made while the machine is in o eration. If a series of rollers are employe one or more of the rollers may be rendered inoperative by retracting the roll out of the path of the sheet so that in excessively warm Weather, for example, the heating step after the dope or transfer material is applied to the paper may be entirely omitted if found to be desirable and, obviously, in excessively cold weather, two or more heating rolls may be employed to attain penetration of the transfer material into the pa er and the chilling operation may be limite to the use of a single cooling roller or the operation might be carried on without artifically cooling the coated sheet.

It is to be understood that the relative sizes of the various rolls may be varied, depending uponthe number of rolls employed and the particular conditions of operation, but I preferably employ a dope roller havinga diamerious rolls may be mounted in any suitable way as is well-known to those skilled in the art. The mill roll or parent roll, and the receiving roll, for example, maybe mounted in the usual manner, including means for windin the coated sheet, which may be adapte for winding the coated sheet in either the forward-or the reverse direction, whereb the coated side of the sheet may be expose or on the inside of the wound sheet.

A modified form of apparatus by means of which my rocess ma be carried out is illustrated in lgure 4 of t e drawings. The sheet to be coated is drawn in the same manner as has been described in connection with Figure 1, being takenfrom'a roll 10 and passed into contact with a dope roll 18., From the dope roller 18, the paper may be passed over an equalizer rod or other e ualizing device, or the evening device may em loyed directly on the dope roller. The s eet is then passed on to the surfaceof a roller 102 in connection with which are mounted a series of brushes or drags, preferabl 3 in number, by means of which the trans er material is evenly distributed over the surface of the paper to which it is applied. The first brush 104 may be a comparatively coarse brush, the second brush-106 'a finer brush, and the last brush 108 is preferably a fine brush of such a character as to smooth out or even out the transfer material on the surface of the pa 1'.

6. or sheet and with theamount of finish or pol- In order to apply heat to the paper or s eet "as it comes from the roller 102, I may employ drawings in which one or both'of the rollersa flame or other heating device whereb any desired degree of heat may be obtaine and so mounted as to be adjustable in position. After being heated by a flame or other heating device 110, the sheet may be passed onto a cooling roller 68 which is mounted so as to be adjustable in position, whereby the sheet may travel any desired distance within certain limits after being heated, before being cooled.

By this means the desired amount or degree ofpenetration of the transfer material into the sheet may be obtained; In order to polish the sheet, I preferably mount a bufling roller '96 in contact with the face of the roller 68.

This roller may be mounted in any suitable position in connection with the roller 68', preferably at a point in which the transfer material has been hardened or set to a desired degree. From the cooling roller, the sheet is preferably passed over suitable guide-rolls or-- i are moved in a circular are around a. common center 32 instead of having extensible arms. as is shown in connection with Figure 1 of the drawing. The rollers are preferably mounted on shafts 29 and 84, one of which,

as 29, for example, may be fixed in position,

while the other is adapted to fit in a slot'202' in the form substantially of a segment of a circle. Either a'belt drive or a chain drive may be employed for rotatingthe rollers 26 and 68 or holding them stationary as desired. Inorder to move the cooling roller 68 to various distances from the heating roller 26, so

as to determine the path of travel of the transfer sheet, I preferably employ a pinion 204 which is mounted on a shaft 206 to which another pinion similar to pinion 20% is attached atthe other side of the machine. The pinion 204 may be operated by means of a disc or knob 208, by means of which the pinion may be moved along the circular rack or gear section 210 until the desired positionof the roller 68 in relation to the heating roller 2 6'is attained. As the distance of the roller 68 from the center of the shaft 32 remains constantythe length of the belt or chain 214 remains constant and thereby obviates the necessity of regulating the length of the chain or belt to compensate for changes in position of the cooling roller 68. After the roller 68 has been moved to anydesired position, it

ma be locked in that position by any suitable loc ing means.

It is to be understood that various changes or modifications may be made in the applicants process and apparatus without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention as defined in the claims. I

. Havin thus described the invention, what is claime as new is: a

1. In a coating machine, a roller for applying .transfer material to a sheet to be coated, means for doctoring the said roller to remove excess of transfer material therefrom, a heating roller for heating the coated sheet, means for adjusting the position of said heating roller within predetermined limits, a cooling roller for cooling the said sheet at any desired position with respect to said heating roller so as to control the time of penetration of said transfer material into the body of the said sheet, means for finishing the surface of said sheet,'aiid means for rewinding the sheet.

2. In a device of the class described, a roller, a shaft for supporting said roller, arms for carrying said shaft and said roller, said arms being pivoted at one end, means for adjusting the angular position of said arms, means comprising devices for simultaneously adjusting said arms uniformly, and means for rotating said roller.

3. In a coating machine, a series of hot and cold rollers adjustable in position to control the heating and cooling of the sheet passed thereto whereby the said sheet when coated with transfer material and passed over the rollers will be alternately heated and cooled to attain the desired penetration and hardness of the said transfer material.

4. In a device of'the class described, means for coating a sheet with transfer material at an elevated temperature, means for evenly distributing the said coating over the surface of said sheet, means for heating the said sheet comprising a roller which may be set so as to control the wrap or the area of contact of said sheet on the roller so as to determine the time interval during which said sheet is heated, a cooling roller for cooling said sheet and transfer material thereon, means for varying the position of said cooling roller so as to regulate the distance that the paper travels from the heating roller to the cooling roller, and meansfor regulating the wrap on the cooling roller so as to attain the .desired chilling effect thereon before the paper is rewound.

5. In a coating machine, web feeding means, web coating means, web heating means and an adjacent web cooling means,

to which the web passes from the web heat- 6. In a coating machine, webfeeding means, web coating means, a web heating device, and an adjacent web coolin which a treated .web passes from t e heatingdevice, said heatin device and cooling device being relatively a justable to vary the length ofthe path of travel of the web betweensaid devices.

7. In a coating machine, web feeding means, web coating means, a web heating device, a web cooling device, and means for adjusting said heating and cooling devices in a direction transverse to the path of travel of the web to vary the wrap of the web relatively thereto and thereb regulate the interval of time during whic the web is heated.-

8. 1 In a coating machine, a feeding mecha:

vnism, a coating means, a web heating means,

a web coohng means, and means for ad ust- ,means for adjusting said device relative to the path of travel of the web through the machine to vary the wrap of the web about the same, said djusting means including two sets of sectional arms, the sections of which have adjacent threaded portions, sleeves sur rounding the adjacent threaded portions of gagement therewith, and means for rotating said sleeves thereby to extend or retract the free ends of said arms.

10. In 7 a coating machine, web feeding means, web coating means, a device for engagement with the web, said device having an arcuate face engaged by the web in its passage through the machine, means for impartingan artificial temperature to said device, and means for adjusting said device relative to the path of travel of the web through the machine,-and thereby vary the of the.web-With' relation to the arcuate wra surfgce of the device, said means comprising a pair of extensible supiports by which the device is carried, and vices for simultaneousl operating said extensible supports to exten' or retract the device.

device to Y 12. In a coating" machine, web feeding mechanism, a coating means, a plurality 0 devices for engagement with the web, means forimparting artificial temperatures to said devices, swinging arms supporting said devices, said arms swinging about a common center whereby said devices may be ad'usted relatively to each other, and means or securing said swinging arms in their adjusted position.

13. In a coating machine, web I feeding means, a device having a curved contact face for engagement with the web, means for imparting an artificial temperature to said device, and means for adjusting said device in a direction transverse to the nth of travel of the web to var the-wrap o the web .relatively to said device and thereby vary the interval of time during which the web is heated.

14. In a coating machine, web feeding means, web coating means, a device for,

.evenly spreading the material applied to the web by said coating means, a. heating device to which the web passes from said material spreadin means, and means whereby said heating evice may be adjusted toward and away from said material spreading means to regulate the interval of time between the.

spreading and heating operations.

Signed at New York, New York this 6th day of April, 1926.

, JACOB A. L. MOLLER.

.said arm sections and having threaded en- 11. In a coating machine, web feeding I means, web coating means, web heatin means, and web' coohng means, said we heating means and said web coohng means being each individually adjustable toward or away from the other to regulate the time; in-

terval between the heating; and cooling of the web,'and also adjustable in adirection transverse to the path of travel of the web to regulate the time interval during which the web is heated. 

